5 Days to First Kick: High 5s

Join MLSsoccer.com’s Jackie Pickering and Nick Firchau as they travel from LA to Vancouver, checking in on all the West Coast teams, meeting with fans, and stopping into adidas HQ in Portland to pick up the game ball for First Kick on March 15 at Qwest Field.

There’s five days left until First Kick, so let’s look at the number 5 in MLS history ...

West African 5: There have been 5 Senegalese players in MLS history: Bouna Coundoul, Macoumba Kandji, Birahim Diop, Mamadou Diallo and Joseph Niouky. Four of the five have played for the New York franchise – Diallo and Diop for the MetroStars, Coundoul and Kandji for the Red Bulls.

SuperClásico 5: The LA Galaxy have won five of the six Honda SuperClásicos vs. Chivas USA, with the Rojiblancos' only aggregate win coming in 2007.

Cleetus 5: The record for goals in a single game is five, set by Clint Mathis on August 26, 2000, against the then-Dallas Burn.

A brief 5: Marcelo Balboa was traded to the MetroStars in 2002, but ended up playing only five minutes all year before retiring.

5 for Texas: There have been five Texas derbies. The Houston Dynamo hold a 3-2 edge over FC Dallas.

5 Rings: With Colorado’s win in last year’s MLS Cup, Brian Mullan picked up his fifth championship. That ties him with Jeff Agoos, who won three with D.C. United and two more with the San Jose Earthquakes. Agoos and Mullan were teammates on the 2003 Quakes team that won the Cup.

Yank 5: Five Americans have won the league MVP: Landon Donovan, Taylor Twellman, Tony Meola, Jason Kreis and Preki. Preki is the only person to have won two MLS MVP trophies.

5 in the Best XI: Jaime Moreno, the league’s all-time leading scorer, made the Best XI five times. So did Chivas USA coach Robin Fraser, Chicago Fire great Chris Armas and current TFC stand-out Dwayne De Rosario.

Seattle 5: The Sounders have outscored their two previous First Kick opponents by a combined 5-0, beating the Red Bulls 3-0 in 2009 and the Union 2-0 in 2010.

Editor-in-Chief 5: Total number of league appearances by MLSsoccer.com editor-in-chief Greg Lalas, who played for Tampa Bay and New England in 1996 and '97.